Vigil planned for UC Berkeley student killed in Bangladesh attack

BERKELEY (KTVU) - A memorial vigil will be held Tuesday at UC Berkeley to honor a student who was among the 20 hostages killed in Friday's Bangladesh restaurant attack.

The school confirmed the death of Tarishi Jain, an Indian national, who was a sophomore at Cal.

After graduating from the American International School in Dhaka, Bangladesh, she went in 2014 to UC Berkeley, where she was majoring in economics.

In a news release, UC Berkeley said that Jain was working on e-commerce growth at Eastern Bank Limited in Dhaka, through an internship program at the school's Bangladesh Studies.

She had started the internship in June.

In the news release, Sanchita Saxena, executive director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and director of the Center for Bangladesh Studies, was quoted as saying, "We are all very devastated to hear the news about Tarishi Jain. She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart. Our deep condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Berkeley community."

The school said that Jain's father, Sanjeev, was a businessman in the textile industry in Bangladesh. He and relatives waited outside the restaurant as they waited for news about Tarishi.

Chancellor Nicholas Dirks also issued a public statement below:

"It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the tragic death of one of our students, Tarishi Jain, a UC Berkeley student killed in the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh yesterday.

Tarishi and seven other students were completing internships with UC Berkeley's Subir and Malini Chowdury Center for Bangladesh Studies.

A graduate of the American International School in Dhaka, Tarishi came to UC Berkeley in 2015 and was intending to major in economics.

We have been in contact with her family to provide assistance in any way that we can and are working closely with our other students there to assist them in staying safe and determining whether they leave the area.

Our counseling services staff and CARE services are available to support for faculty, students and staff on campus as we mourn this tragic loss.

On behalf of our entire campus, we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends and to all the other families who have suffered such a devastating loss."

The vigil is scheduled to take place at the UC campus's Sproul Plaza on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m.